Yes, Azaña said those words in March, 27, 1930, in the Restaurant Patria (Barcelona) but soon he learned about his error, and the grave consequences of that speech.
In May, 1937, Azaña wrote in his diary: "las muchas y muy enormes y escandalosas [...] pruebas de insolidaridad y despego, de hostilidad, de 'chantajismo' que la política catalana ha dado frente al gobierno de la República".
And then he added: "Y si esas gentes van a descuartizar a España, prefiero a Franco. Con Franco ya nos entenderíamos nosotros, o nuestros hijos, o quien fuere, pero estos hombres son inaguantables. Acabarían por dar la razón a Franco".
EDIT: Also, those quotes just show that the iconoclast and rebellions attitude of Catalonia against the central government is quite old, and not just an invention of some corrupt politicians to divert attention :)
Also 80 years is a lot or not.
Pau Claris, head of the Generalitat of Catalonia, called the politician members of the all Principality in order to form a Junta de Braços or Braços Generals (General Estates), a consultive body. (...) This assembly, which worked with individual voting, began to create and apply various revolutionary measures (...), while the tension with the monarchy grew.
Echoes of the past :)